A cleaning appliance, such as a vacuum cleaner, may include a cleaner head that is rotatably attached to a duct, and the cleaner head may include a rotary agitator that is driven by a drive assembly. The centre of gravity of the cleaner head is typically offset relative to the axis of rotation about which the cleaner head rotates. Consequently, when the cleaner head is lifted off the floor (e.g. in order to manoeuvre the cleaner head over or around an obstacle), the cleaner head tends to rotate to one side. This then makes handling of the cleaner head more difficult.